


Avengers On The Go

by PagesInAChapter



Category: Avengers
Genre: Avengers Tower, Don't care, I know, I'm just writing the insights into regular Avenger life, I'm writing this because I want to not to accurately write fanfiction, Marvel - Freeform, Not an original idea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-07-23 05:24:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16152488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PagesInAChapter/pseuds/PagesInAChapter
Summary: A series of short stories about what the Avengers get up to in their down-time, with some internet head canons that I like and agree with peppered in. Set in the peaceful post-Infinity War universe we deserve where everyone is happy and getting along and living in the tower.





	1. Blackout

There was nothing to do. Peter was bored.

He sat on the top of the Avenger's Tower, letting his feet dangle over the edge, waiting patiently. He shot a web, adding to the structure of the silk cable that connected the Tower to the neighbouring building, and glanced over his shoulder. Maybe a little impatiently.

Thunder rumbled overhead and he snapped his attention to the sky. The dark clouds rolled overhead, a threatening creature growling its fury. Ordinarily it wouldn't bother him, but... Peter's plan for the day was stupid enough without the added danger of being electrocuted.

The door to the roof banged open and Shuri hurried out. Her hair was twisted into two buns on either side of her head, and she wore a hoodie with Black Panther's face on it. Frowning, She pulled the hood over her head and dropped to her knees by Peter's side.

"We still doing this?" She said. Well, yelled. Maybe she yelled, just a little bit, over the sound of the gathering wind.

"Depends, are the others with you?"

Two faces appeared at the door, not worried so much as cautiously curious. Ned and MJ. Peter raised his hand in a half wave and gestured to the cable, unable to keep the grin off his face. Ned was beaming. MJ just looked vaguely confused.

"Explain to me why we're on top of the Avenger's Tower?" She deadpanned.

Shuri hopped up and clapped a hand on MJ's shoulder. "Zip-lining. Look, see, the web cable goes from here to that building. Peter has ensured that the window is open, and we're going to–"

Lightning slammed the cable, throwing the teenagers backwards, screaming. They rolled into a huddle, covering their heads, shielding their eyes against the explosion of sparks that sprayed across the roof.

The thunder rumbled again, as though the very sky was laughing at them. Peter looked up shakily, one hand still covering his face. There was no way the cable could've survived that blast, that was for sure.

Apparently, neither could the city. The group stood up slowly, staring in stunned silence as every light in every building flickered and died, a wave of darkness that spread from the Tower like a plague. Peter stuffed his hands in his pockets and chewed his lip thoughtfully, tapping his foot on the ground.

Ned took a careful step forward, squinting in the darkness. "Well, it– It could be worse."

Then the rain started.

"Thanks, Ned." MJ said brightly, pulling her jacket over her head. "Thank you, so much for that insight."

Peter waved his hand out until he brushed against something solid– Shuri?– and clung on. He'd never experienced darkness like this before. There were always street lights, always the glow of a screen, always something. Now, though, they may as well have been blind.

Blind, in the freezing, lashing rain and howling wind on top of a building with no railing at the edges.

"I vote we go inside. Where's the door?" Shuri took Peter's hand and edged out, searching for the knob that would allow them into shelter. "Everyone hold hands. Do any of you guys have a phone?"

"I do." MJ said. For a moment their faces were washed in blue, before the light vanished. "Nevermind, rain got it."

"What the hell do you kids think you're doing?" A voice said. A torch beam flicked on, and there was Clint, standing in the doorway looking bewildered. Peter blinked against the light. Ned shielded his eyes.

Shuri gestured lightly. "Hey, look. The door."

They dashed inside, desperate to get out of the cold. Clint stood in the doorway a little longer, watching the rain, observing the way the wind whipped the remains of the silk cable around, before shutting the door behind them.

Even the Avengers Tower was dark. Peter, Shuri, Ned, and MJ scuttled to Clint's room like rats in a tunnel, still holding hands in a chain, afraid to be separated even as Clint walked after them, swinging the torch carelessly.

"I have some spare clothes. Dry off, get warm, get dressed, Tony wants everyone down in the common area in ten." Clint handed out shirts and tracksuit pants before shepherding MJ and Shuri down the hall to change, leaving Ned and Peter to fix themselves up in the dark.

The common area was lit with candles, torches, lanterns, and four Ironman suits at each wall to expel the shadows from the corners. The Avengers were gathered on the lounges, drinking various beverages and talking quietly, waiting for Clint to get back with Peter. Presuming he found him. Presuming he wasn't dead or lost or trapped somewhere.

These kinds of fears were weighing heavily on Tony as of late.

Clint poked his head around the corner, rubbing the back of his head with one hand. "Hey guys, good news. The Spiderling had friends over."

Bruce looked up. He was already panicking. Added chaos was not something he wanted. "Who?"

"Two of his school friends. And the princess of Wakanda."

"You've got to be kidding me." Tony stood up sharply. Peter and his friends were trailing into the room, eyes down, faces red. All of them wore clothes several sizes too big. They were practically drowning in the fabric. And honestly, it served them right.

Peter's gaze flickered to Tony before he looked away again, quickly. "Hi, Mr Stark."

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose and took in a deep, shuddering breath. "Sit down, kids. All of you."

They did, sticking together in a small group. With Bruce, Natasha, Wanda, and Thor on the couch, Sam and Clint perched on the benches, the teenagers sitting crosslegged on the floor, and Bucky standing in the corner like a statue, Tony felt a little daunted. There were a lot of people here. He stood as straight as he could and pushed his glasses onto his face.

"Alright, so the power in the city's out." Tony said. "Thanks Thor."

"Sometimes a storm is just a storm, Tony. This is not my doing."

"Thanks Thor." Tony repeated. "point of the matter, it's too dangerous to go outside right now, and there's no cell reception. Which means you four," he pointed a the teenagers, "are now my responsibility."

There was instant uproar. 

"I can't stay here!" Ned cried. "I have to get home! My family–"

"Aunt May will be worried sick–"

"I don't know if I can put up with Ned and Peter for that long-"

"Mr Stark, my brother does not know I'm here, I have to leave–"

Tony held up his hands for silence. He didn't get it, but he kept talking anyway, loud enough to drown out the complaints. "Hey, hey, everything will be fine! It'll be good. However, today's grocery day so there's not much here. We don't know how long the storm will go for, so it's important not to panic, and we may have to ration the food."

"Where's Steve?" Natasha asked suddenly.

"Steve went for groceries." 

"Steve's out there alone?" Bucky shifted, startling Tony so much he almost fell backwards. He'd almost forgotten the soldier was there.

"Steve's not helpless, Bucky, he'll be fine. He'll just have to wait out the storm just like the rest of us." Bruce said, craning his neck to blink at Bucky. Bucky did not look reassured, but he settled back into his natural, threatening position. It was probably the best they were going to get.

Tony yawned and arched his back. He'd been down in the workshop for hours, only emerging after he'd been plunged into darkness. He was exhausted, and his muscles were sore.

"They can sleep in my room." Wanda suggested with a glance at the teenagers. Was it Tony's imagination, or was there a hint of hope in her eyes? He tried to put himself in her shoes. She must be thrilled to have other teenagers in the building, even if they were trapped here and a few years younger.

"Alright. You lot, go. Bruce, Thor, if you can work on trying to put a little bit of power in this building so we don't all freeze." They scattered, and Tony scrambled wildly for something, anything, for the other Avengers to do.

Sam grinned. "Tony, it's okay. We can all just rest up, relax. It'll be good for us."

There was silence for a moment, before Natasha stood up. "I'm going to help Thor and Bruce."

She left silently.

Bucky zipped up his jacket. "I'm going to go find Steve."

"Coming with you." Sam said immediately.

"Ill-adivsed, but I doubt I can stop you." Tony said cheerfully. 

Clint sat alone on the bench, staring at Tony with a laugh in his eyes. "I don't know about you." He said slowly, "But I am going to turn off my hearing aid and go to sleep in the air vents. If you need me, hit the ceiling with a stick. That'll probably do the trick.

\---

"It has been two days." Peter announced from the web hammock he'd made in the corner of Wanda's room. "Two days, and the rain has not stopped."

MJ, lounging in her own hammock, held up her phone. "Listen, Mr Stark fixed my phone, and the cell towers are back up. I'm happy. I can read now."

"You read on your phone?"

"Carrying multiple books to a zip-line is impractical."

"Could you guys keep it down? I'm trying to sleep." Wanda sat up in bed, blinking at the others. They'd rejected her offer of couches and sleeping bags, instead opting for a large web spun in one corner of the room. It freaked Wanda out, if she was being honest. It was like she was living with four sentient house spiders.

Ned, half asleep, gave Wanda a two-fingered salute. She supposed that was good enough for now, and rolled over in bed to try and go back to sleep. Half past four in the morning was an unreasonable time for anyone to be awake, let alone alert and chatting.

Wanda had just dozed off, maybe a minute after the kids had quietened, when someone's phone rang. She sat bolt upright, gagging and pulling hair out of her mouth. Across the room, Shuri yelped and tumbled out of her hammock, saved from crashing to the ground only by MJ grabbing at her ankle.

"Unknown number." Peter rubbed his eyes and squinted at the ringing phone.

"Put it on speaker."

Peter did, and immediately fumbled the phone, startled by the sound of screaming.

"Open the window! Open the window!" The voice on the other end shouted.

"What?" Ned reached down and plucked the phone off the floor. "Who is this? Which room?"

"Wanda's floor, NOW!"

"Just open all the windows!" Peter shouted. He sprung off the hammock and dashed out of the room, closely followed by his school friends and Shuri. Wanda stayed in her bedroom, throwing open every window she bumped into in the dark.

No, that wasn't quite true. There was a light to see by. A small light, coming from outside, getting bigger and bigger and–

Wanda forced the final window open and leapt to one side, out of the way of the missile that raced through the window, screaming– screaming?– and crashed through the wall, coming to a tumbling halt in the next room. Wanda crawled over to the hole and peeked over the edge, watching as Sam, Bucky, and Steve roles away from each other, groaning and coughing. All three were covered in dust and debris, soaked to the skin and decorated with scratches.

"Where have you three been?" Wanda cried, trying hard to keep the panic out of her voice. Sam started adjusting his lights, deliberately not looking at her.

Bucky coughed and held up a squashed loaf of bread. "It is incredibly hard to navigate this city without any light, on foot, in the rain. But we have Steve, we have groceries, and we bring news. Have you seen Tony?"

Wanda pointed wordlessly down the stairs and they trudged off, leaving her to close all the windows and try to patch up the hole in the wall.

They found Tony standing on a chair in the kitchen, stabbing the ceiling with a broom handle. Steve and Bucky exchanged a bemused look. Sam just rolled his eyes and edged around Tony to start unpacking the groceries.

"Welcome home, Steve." Tony said, not taking his eyes off the ceiling. "Did you enjoy the downpour?"

"Tony, what are you doing?"

Tony swung the broom handle over his shoulder, almost removing Bucky's head. "Looking for Clint. I haven't seen him since the power cut."

Steve mentally shook himself out. "Right. Anyway, there's a dozen cars outside."

"Uh huh."

"People, Tony. There's people here to see you. You know, Pepper, Rhodes, Peter's aunt May, T'Challa, others."

Tony hopped off the chair and ran a hand through his hair. "There's more?"

"Strange and Scott are there too."

Sam kicked the fridge shut and sighed, wiping dirt off his face with one hand. "I'll let them all in before they get hypothermia. I'm sure they'll all want coffee, so if you guys wouldn't mind?"

He left, a silhouette in the dim dawn light that filtered through the clouds above. 

\---

He'd called all the nearby hotels to find Steve. He'd repaired fried circuits and wires in the walls as best he could. He'd called Peter to get him to open the windows when it looked like Sam wasn't going to be able to slow down and land. He'd contacted guardians, spouses, friends, and fellow Avengers who did not live at the Tower to let them know where everyone was. And did he get any thanks for it? No. Instead, he got woken up by someone hitting the ceiling with a broom.

Clint lay in the air vents, resting his chin on his folded hands.Around him, people moved to and fro and laughed and drank and talked. With pale daylight and candles combined, there was plenty of light to see by.

It was chaotic. It was crowded. Clint was perfectly happy just hanging out in the wall, keeping an eye on everyone. The unseen hero, that was Clint. Unseen and under-appreciated. It was a niche someone had to fill, and he was fine being that someone.

The air vent shuddered, and Clint looked up sharply, flicking on his hearing aid. Loud noises. Methodical. Someone else in the air vent, someone heavy and noisy and lopsided.

Bucky rounded the corner, crawling along on his stomach, and stopped when he saw Clint. "Oh. Didn't realise these vents were taken."

"How come you're not down there?" Clint gestured through the slitted plate beside him, giving his a good view of everyone's shoes. Bucky shrugged and settled down, blowing a lock of hair off his face.

"Too many people. I have no wish to be... there."

Clint stared at Bucky and nodded slowly. He could see how he'd feel that way.

"Well, there's plenty of room up here. Not really. There's almost no room in here, but I'm glad to have you anyway. Welcome aboard."

They shook hands, and the ghost of a smile flickered across Bucky's face. However long the blackout lasted, he would stay here. Out of sight of the others, hanging with Clint in the walls. Unseen.


	2. Camping Trip

"Why." Steve deadpanned.

Sam held the bedroll out to him hopefully. "Because we deserve a couple of days out of this city, Cap."

"Also because you've been staring at the same newspaper clipping on the wall for four hours." Bucky chimed in. Sam gestured to him dramatically in agreement.

Steve chewed his lip thoughtfully and glanced at the faded photo of the Howling Commandos that he'd been looking at. Maybe they were right. Maybe he had been a little out of it lately. But that wasn't his fault. Everybody had their bad days every now and then. Even Captain America.

He hopped off the bed and stretched his arms behind his head, yawning. "Alright, fine. A small camping trip couldn't hurt. When do we leave?"

Sam and Bucky exchanged a mischievous look before throwing the bedroll at Steve and knocking him back to the bed. 

"As soon as you're ready." Sam said cheerfully. "Everyone's already packing."

\---

It was not easy to get to where they wanted to go.

It was a secluded place pretty far from the city, deep in the mountains. According to Tony, you couldn't hear any sounds of civilisation, and there was almost zero light pollution. It was a pretty good camping area.

They walked in single file, with Thor and T'Challa picking through the trail and Scott at the back, carrying a handbag of miniaturised supplies and equipment. Natasha, walking just behind Steve, was already bored. She'd been on alert for hours, constantly scanning the undergrowth for danger, but after a while, things got pretty monotone. The only interesting thing was an eagle that had flown high above them for a while, which had gotten bored faster than Natasha had.

"Tony, please tell me we're close." Strange said loudly. Tony had forbidden him earlier from using portals, simply because he figured that the walk would do everyone good.

He was right. This whole thing, the hike and the camping trip, was all designed to make everyone feel a little better. Lately, everyone in the Tower had started to feel a little... down. Steve had been reminiscing on his time with the Howling Commandos. Thor was grieving for Loki and Odin and Heimdall and Valkyrie. Bucky was spending more and more time in the fridge, presumably trying to find comfort in the idea of freezing. Tony himself had polished every piece of armour and machinery he owned. It had taken five hours to do it once. He did it three times.

A break was needed, before they all lost their minds.

Natasha knew this and she knew it well. Besides, this trip would be fun. It would give her a chance to hang out with Clint. They hadn't done anything even remotely fun together for so long now. This would be good. She flashed a smile at Clint, who was behind her and bouncing like a kid on a sugar high. He grinned back, eyes alight.

"Alright, this should be it." Tony said. "Should be a clearing up ahead."

"Yes." T'Challa said simply, hurrying ahead of Thor. He sounded a little tired. Natasha craned her neck over Steve's shoulder. Yeah, T'Challa looked a little worn out. Good thing she could see the clearing, not four yards away.

They trickled out like water from a dam, picking through the grass and rocky patches. Natasha quickly climbed the nearest tree, edging as far out and as high up as she could to get a look around. Others seem to have had the same idea. The trees around her were full of Avengers. Vision shot past her, up above the canopy.

They were on a ledge, halfway up a mountain. A big ledge, granted. Flat and round and covered in trees. In three directions, all Natasha could see was forest. Behind her, a solid rock wall.

Yeah, this would be a good place.

"Everyone stand back!" Scott shouted. A second later, four tents sprung from the grass as if they'd simply appeared, and the group set to work assembling them.

Natasha dropped from the tree and promptly scared the living daylights out of Wanda, who scrambled away as fast as she could.

"Clear." Natasha called.

"Clear." Clint responded from a tree at the other side of the clearing.

"Clear." Sam.

"Clear." T'Challa.

"Clear." Vision.

"There's nobody but us for miles." Strange said with a hint of exasperation. "How about we just relax a little?"

It took an hour for everyone to finish setting up the tents and calm down, by which time everyone had cheered up considerably. The sun began its descent, dipping below the trees, and had almost vanished when Steve sat up sharply.

"Someone should get firewood." He declared.

They sent off two groups: Thor, Natasha, and Sam went south, Bruce, Clint, and Scott went east.

"I'll bet you five dollars that we bring back more firewood than you do." Scott said loudly.

Thor looked up, raising his eyebrows. "Is that all you have to spare, friend Ant? I'll bet my hammer."'

T'Challa leaped up, arms spread to act as a buffer between the two groups, who were twitching like alleycats on caffeine. "Break it up. Go get sticks."

Across the camp, Tony was laying out sleeping bags in tents. He looked up as the groups departed, chattering and laughing and hurling insults over their shoulders. In his own mind, Tony had money on Thor's group. But he would keep that private. Adding yet another bet to the pool would only fuel the fire, and he didn't want to burn.

\---

Clint and Scott had separated from Bruce. Well, really, all three of them had split, but Clint and Scott had bumped into each other– literally– in the dark. Clint cursed as he stumbled, dropping his armful of sticks, and sat down heavily in the grass. "Well, this is disappointing."

Scott just grinned, his teeth flashing in the dark, and jammed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. There was something... smug about his expression. Clint narrowed his eyes.

"Where's your firewood? Have you just been looking at flowers?"

The grin never left Scott's face, but he withdraw something small and wrapped in cloth from his pocket. "Nope. I've been working hard."

Clint took the small parcel and unwrapped it, brow furrowed. Tiny sticks. It was full of little tiny sticks. If these were full sized.

"Scott, you're a genius. How many disks did you bring?"

"I dunno, four?"

Clint paused and looked up, the wheels turning in his head. An armful of sticks would be much easier to carry if they were smaller. He positioned the sticks on the ground and took a step back. "Okay. Shoot."

Scott lined up the shot. He couldn't miss. Missing would mean–

"Spider." Clint said sharply, leaping away from Scott. Scott whirled, saw the spider on his shoulder, and slapped it away with one hand. With his right hand. The hand that had been holding the disk.

"Uh oh."

\---

Sam dropped from the tree, carrying a stack of sticks under one arm. "Think we have enough?"

Natasha had an entire dead branch slung over her shoulder, which was a pretty good find. That branch alone would be enough to keep a fire going all night. And it would definitely be enough to win that bet.

Not that Scott's five dollars was important. Nobody in the group needed five dollars. No, this bet was about honour. Honour, and the right to push the other group (Firewood Group B, as Natasha affectionately called them) with Thor's hammer. Granted, that would happen whether they won the bet or not, but still. Winning would make it all the more sweet.

"Yes, this is enough. This'll do fine." Thor decided. "I broke branches to mark our path. Back we go."

They headed back along the path, back to camp. Someone had brought out a lantern, and the group were huddled around it for light, telling stories. Nobody was facing away, scanning the surroundings. Nobody was keeping watch. For once, the Avengers were relaxed, cheerful, joking amongst each other like a group of friends without a care in the world.

Oh, how they would regret that.

Sam rushed forward and grabbed Steve by the back of the neck. "Boo!"

Steve twitched. He knew it was Sam. Wanda was sitting across from him, and she'd looked up briefly at something behind Steve but hadn't reacted. So, no danger. No need to fear.

Bucky, however, had not been watching Wanda, and the second he felt Steve stiffen he swung, catching Sam in the jaw with a metal fist. Sam flew backwards, skidding on the grass, and came to a halt at Thor's feet.

"My bad." He groaned, almost drowned out by the sound of the others laughing. Even Bucky was grinning, though he offered no apology.

Natasha built a campfire with the sticks and Thor blasted it with lightning. They did this twice– The first time, the campfire pyramid simply became ash, and it took Thor a moment to dial down the power. Within minutes, they were gathered around the roaring flames. Everyone except Vision, at least, who was hovering above the trees.

"Bruce's group are headed perpendicular to camp." He reported.

Tony held up one hand. "They'll be fine. But keep an eye on them, will you Vis? Let's see how long it takes for them to get back."

\---

Bruce was wary. This was to be expected, of course. He was alone in the woods on the side of a mountain without a light, and the last he''d heard from his friends was Clint's yelp from the shadows. Now, he couldn't seem to find them. Worse, he couldn't seem to find the campsite. He chewed his lip and spun in a slow circle.

"Clint? Scott? Anyone out here?"

Clint dropped from the trees, barely a foot from Bruce's nose, and Bruce shrieked. The sound split the silent night air like a knife blade and Clint winced.

"Quiet, doctor, or I'll kiss you. Now. I have news."

Bruce's heart rate was slowing. "Good news or bad news?"

"Both! You see, the good news is, I have two muesli bars, because I know we're all lost." He tossed a muesli bar to Bruce, who tucked into his pocket with a look of bafflement. "And the other bit of good news, is that Scott has a disk to make things bigger back at camp."

Bruce opened his mouth. Shut it again. He noted the lack of firewood. He noted the lack of Scott. "What did you do."

"Don't– Don't go green on me, okay Banner, we're gonna be fine." Clint dug around in his pocket for a moment, before pulling out a tiny figure, the back of the shirt pinched between the thumb and forefinger. Bruce held out a hand, almost trembling, and Clint gently set Scott into Bruce's palm, looking a little shifty.

Scott smiled weakly up Bruce, and immediately threw up over the side of his hand.

"S- Sorry." He said hoarsely. "Not good to shrink without- without the suit."

"Also, a spider bit him." Clint added helpfully.

Bruce just closed his eyes and focused on staying calm. This was a camping trip. It was time to relax.

"That way." Bruce said, pointing in a random direction. "We walk that way."

\---

Thor was singing some Asgardian songs. They were quite bad, but catchy, and it didn't take long until the whole camp joined in.

Vision, of course, was still watching Beta Firewood Group. "They've fallen off a cliff."

"They'll be fine."

"They will not be fine." Steve said sharply, looking up from his sketching. He caught Strange's eye. The wizard and gestured to the sky, creating a fizzing, sparkler-like portal from which Bruce and Clint fell, screaming, and landed in a heap on the grass.

Clint sat up immediately, the firelight casting hazy shadows on his face as he patted himself down frantically. "Scott? Where's Scott?"

Scott erupted suddenly from the front of a tent, back to normal size. He gave Clint a weak thumbs up signal and promptly fell asleep right there on the grass. Even when Thor lifted him up and carrying him into the ten, he didn't stir. He barely breathed. But it was probably natural to be exhausted.

Tony pushed himself up to his knees with a groan. "Okay. Goodnight everybody. We'll go for a hike tomorrow."

"Yessir." Steve said with a raised eyebrow, and tossed his water bottle over the campfire, dousing the flames and leaving everyone to depart by the glow of the embers.


End file.
